Importing resources, processes, and events to applications

Import legacy processes, resources, and events to add them to applications in the Applications view. For each legacy item, a corresponding asset is created in a target application.

The following rules apply when importing legacy items to applications:

  • You can import only one version of a process to an application version. If you wish to import multiple versions of a process, see Importing multiple versions of a process for more information.

  • You can import a process, resource, or event to multiple applications to create multiple copies.

  • Applications can include either legacy items or assets created using AEM forms. Do not place both legacy items and AEM forms assets in the same application.

  • In an application, process names must be unique. If the process you are importing has the same name of an existing process, even if their deployment IDs are different, the import operation fails.

  • In an application, Deployment IDs of processes must be unique. If the process you are importing has a different name but the same Deployment ID of an existing process, the import operation fails.

Application names and folder names have the following restrictions:

  • Names can have a maximum length of 40 characters.

  • The total number of characters in the path of an asset cannot exceed 256.

  • Names cannot include control characters (characters that have an ASCII value that is less than 32).

  • Names cannot include any of the following characters: "/", "\", "+", "$", "?", "*", ":", "|", "<", ">", ",", and the tab key.

If your legacy resources use a folder structure that conflicts with these restrictions, modify the folder structure before importing. Not adhering to these restrictions can cause resources to be inaccessible.

You can import legacy items from the run-time environment, the file system, and AEM forms 8.x archives.

Check in imported items to save them on the AEM forms Server. (See Developing applications in a multi-developer environment .)

Importing multiple versions of a process

Workbench does not allow you to import multiple versions of a legacy process simultaneously. If you wish to import multiple versions of a process:

  1. Create a new application to import the process.

  2. Import any one version of the process at a time.

  3. Reset its deployment ID. When you reset the deployment ID, the legacy process is converted to a AEM forms compatible process. See Breaking the link to existing run-time instances for more information.

  4. Repeat the steps 1 to 3 for each version of the process you wish to import.

Importing from the run-time environment

Import legacy items from the run-time environment to create representations of them in the Applications view. The resultant application assets are directly linked to the instances in the run-time environment.

Typically, you import legacy items from the run-time environment to edit them. For example, to edit a process version that exists in the run-time environment, import it to an application and then open it. (See Maintaining legacy run-time instances .)

After importing, the locations in the run-time environment do not change. Consequently, references between imported items are persisted regardless of which application they belong to. Therefore, legacy applications continue to execute successfully.

Note: Create applications before importing legacy items. (See Adding and removing applications .)

Import legacy items from the run-time environment:

  1. Click File > Import.

  2. Under AEM forms Runtime Content, select Event, Process, or Resource, depending on the type of item you are importing, and then click Next.

  3. Select the event types, resources, or process versions to import:

    • Events: Select one or more event types. To select multiple event types, expand the event categories and Ctrl+click.

    • Processes: Select one or more process versions. To select multiple process versions, expand the process groups and processes and then Ctrl+click.

    • Resources: Select resources or resource folders. If you select a folder, the entire contents, including subfolders and resources, are imported. Ctrl+click to select multiple folders or resources.

    Note: Do not import or upgrade pre populated system processes that are provided with Workbench. For example, forms workflow Email (system).

  4. In the Enter Or Select Import Location box, specify the target location for the selected items, and then click Finish.

Importing from the file system

Import AEM forms 8.x items from the file system when you want to use them in AEM forms applications. For example, import processes that you exported to XML files from the AEM forms 8.x environment.

You can import individual files or entire folders. You can also duplicate the file structure on the file system in the application.

After you import files with long file structures, verify that the path does not exceed the 256-character limit. When the imported file has a resulting path in the application that exceeds the 256-character limit, the item is inaccessible from Workbench.

Note: Create applications before importing legacy items. (See Adding and removing applications .)

Import from the file system:

  1. Click File > Import.

  2. Click General > File System and then click Next.

  3. Browse for the folder that contains the file to import.

    Note: If you import a file that is in a subfolder of the folder you select, the subfolder is also created in the application.

  4. Select entire folders or individual files to import.

    You can select files from multiple folders.

  5. Click the Browse button next to the Into Folder box and select the application folder to contain the files.

    To see only the file types that you are interested in, click Filter Types and select those file types.

  6. To replace assets in the application that have the same name and location as the items that you are importing, select Overwrite Existing Resources Without Warning. If you do not select this option, you decide whether to replace same-named files when they are being imported.

  7. Duplicate the folder structure of the file you are importing, including all folders to the root of the file system. Select Create Complete Folder Structure, and then click Finish.

Exporting files referenced by literal values

Workbench does not support literal values locally referencing files from the file system; outgoing file references can only be made to files stored in the AEM forms Server. However, if your legacy AEM forms 8.x process uses literal values that locally reference files from the file system, Workbench allows you to export these files to the server after upgrading your process:

  1. Use the Upgrade ES Artifacts tool to upgrade the AEM forms 8.x process. For more information, see Upgrading legacy artifacts .

  2. Check out and open the process in the process designer.

  3. In the Process Properties View, navigate to the literal value and click the button.

  4. Specify a location on the server for the file to be exported. You could also create a new folder by clicking New Folder .

  5. Click Ok to finish exporting the file.

Importing from AEM forms 8.x archive files

To import items from AEM forms 8.x archive files (that were created using AEM forms), first import the archive files into AEM forms using administration console. After importing, the items in the AEM forms archive file appear in the Processes, Resources, and Events views as they did in the original AEM forms environment. For example, process versions appear in the same process group in the Processes view.

Note: If the root of the path of imported resources is Applications, the imported resources do not appear in the Resources view. For example, an AEM forms archive file contains the resources from the Application/LoanApplication folder. When this AEM forms archive file is imported, the contents do not appear in the Resources view.

Create applications before importing legacy items. (See Adding and removing applications .)

Legacy LCA files that include service configurations

In AEM forms, when processes used services that were configured using the Components view, AEM forms archive files included the service configuration. These service configurations cause problems when they are imported into AEM forms environments. When you preview archive contents when importing into AEM forms, deselect any service configurations for service components.

For example, a AEM forms process uses the LDAP service. The connection properties for the LDAP service were configured using the Components view. When the process is packaged in a AEM forms archive, the archive includes the service configuration. When imported, the service configuration is appears as ServiceConfiguration_LDAPService in the preview. This item should be deselected before importing into AEM forms.

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Note: Do not deselect service configurations for process services.

Import legacy items from AEM forms archive files:

  1. Use administration console to import the AEM forms archive files. (See Import and manage AEM forms 8.x archives .)

  2. In Workbench, open the Processes view and refresh the view. Refreshing causes any processes that were imported from the LCA file to appear.

  3. Open the Events view and refresh the view. Refreshing causes any event types that were imported from the LCA file to appear.

  4. Import the items that the AEM forms archive file contained from their run-time location. (See Importing from the run-time environment .)

Note: Refresh the Applications view to see the imported items.
Note: Importing a AEM forms archive file where the application contains a folder named components fails. To resolve this issue, rename the folder in the AEM forms application to another name other than components, recreate the archive file, and reimport the file to the AEM forms Server.

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